No Secret to Her Success

When Ashley Judd burst on the scene at Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival in 1993 with her role in Ruby in Paradise, everyone thought her trip to stardom was going to be a short one.

But she seemed determined to carve out a career very separate from those of the famous singing Judd’s -- her mother, Naomi, and sister Wynonna -- and had gotten off to a great start with a sensitive performance in a Sundance Grand Jury Prizewinner.

She followed it with major roles in Heat, A Time to Kill, Kiss the Girls and Double Jeopardy. All that hard work has paid off, with Judd, now 34, being pursued for her part in The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and being chosen as the lead in Catwoman (for which she is rumored to have earned a $10 million payday).

Judd's steady, serious approach to acting seems to be part of her practical streak. "If I'm traveling in a foreign country, I'm always the one who has to bat cleanup -- get to the bottom of the tipping policy, deal with the front desk, book those tours," she observes.

And, when she has to do the strong focused thing on screen, it does seem to be believable. "People like to see me do this," she says, sounding somewhat surprised. "They believe I'm capable of so much."

In her most recent film, High Crimes, Judd played a lawyer defending her husband (Jim Caviezel), who is accused of massacring civilians while on a covert military operation in El Salvador 15 years earlier.

It was while on that shoot that Judd started receiving impassioned letters from first time director Callie Khori to take on the part of the uninhibited character of Vivi in the screen adaptation of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

The movie details the friendship of four women who stage a rather unorthodox intervention to help young playwright understand her eccentric mother. The story begins in the 1930's and '40s, continues in the '60s and ends in the '90s. Ellen Burstyn assumes the role of Vivi in the present. Judd plays Vivi in the '40s and the grown-up mother in the '60s. He role spans the character from the age of 18 through to her 30s. Sandra Bullock (Judd's co-star in A Time to Kill) portrays the grown daughter of the Judd-Burstyn character.

With all her starting turns lately, Judd told AOL that her supporting role in the film is a nice break. "I think it is important to mix up starring and supporting roles -- because, frankly, that much responsibility all the time would leave no room for a private life."

That private like now includes a husband -- Scottish race car driver Dario Franchitti. The two married last December at Skibo Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland, where Madonna and guy Ritchie also exchanged their vows. the busy couple, who divides their time between her movie sets and his race locations, now lives in Franklin, Kentucky. before settling down, the actress was known for her high profile dating, having dated singer Lyle Lovett and Michael Bolton, as well and actors Robert De Niro and Mathews McConaughey.

Born in Las Angeles, she grew up living out of tour buses and hotel while traveling with her mom and sister. She attended 12 different schools in 12 years.

"My folks were on the road at a certain stage, and I was living with my dad (Michael Ciminella)," she explains. "I was 17 and there was a whole wee I skipped school. My dad wasn't there."

Even so, this particular bad behavior wasn't all that rewarding for her. "I didn't have fun because there wasn't anybody else skipping school," says Judd. "There was no one to hang out with, no one to share a sense on conspiracy and adventure. i was miserable... Fortunately, I was able to recover."

That's an understatement. Judd went on to be a top student -- earning a place in the honor society Phi Beta Kappa -- at the University of Kentucky where she majored in French. After flirting with the idea of joining the Peace Corps, Judd decided to pursue acting and landed bit roles on television's Star Trek: The Next Generation and Sisters.

"I worked very hard to help make opportunities for myself," she says. "When I lived in Los Angeles and was studying at my acting school, I drove all over this town meeting people and auditioning for parts. I got some work, built some momentum, trusted my instincts, and here we are."

One thing that is evident is that Judd appears to be drawn to strong character. In Double Jeopardy she was a betrayed wife with a purpose and in Kiss the Girls she was a serial killer's object of desire that refused to be a victim.

"It's interesting, she says. "In an article, Jodie foster said she knew the links between the various character she has played, what connects them thematically. People say that to me and I think what unites all my character is, they’re hurt. It's most accurate to say I play character who are hurt but are responding to their environment."

As her stardom continues to grow, Judd is responding to changes in her own life and trying to figure out where the line is drawn between public and private.

"It's hard, but I try to do it,” she says. The right question is, do I get irritated while I try to retain my privacy? I have a picture from the film festival at Deauville, France, where Kiss the Girls was premiering in Europe, and there's this phalanx of photographers in a circle and I'm standing there, and I wrote, 'Abandon all ye who have hope who enter here.'"

"It's a trade-off and I hope people understand my husband Dario and I give a lot. I have a responsibility to nurture and shepard my talent and when I'm living the parts of my life not related to that I feel I have the right to be left alone...

"My sister disagrees with me. She said the lack of privacy comes with the whole kit and caboodle and it's not open to negotiation. “If I'm in the toilet in an airport bathroom, I don’t think it's appropriate to slide a pad and pencil under the stall."

Judd's not totally businesslike, though, and admits it's occasionally impossible to turn down a fan. She says: "You see the crestfallen look on the girl's face and she says, 'It's for my mom.' And of course, you melt."

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